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WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.

23rd March 1920, Page 4
23rd March 1920
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The wheel of wealth, will be slowed by all digiciilties of transport at whatever points (nisi:are% as a carriage is by the roughness of the roads over which it runs."—John Beattie Crozier.

Commercial -Vehicle Trials in Spain.

The Chambre Syndicate d'Automobile of Barcelona were unable to organize any commercial vehicle exhibition this year owing to the strikes and other labour troubles, but they are now or ganizing a commercial vehicle trial which is sure to create much attention. The. trials take place fsom June 21st to the 26th, and will be run in stages as follows Barcelona—lAricla, 100 miles; Lerida—Huesca, 93 miles; Huesca— Saragossa, 4-5 miles; Saragossa—Affiams, 71 miles; Alhama—Guadalajara, 95 miles; Guadalajara—Madrid, 34 miles. The entrantswill be divided into two classes,' one for vans and lorries, the other for omnibuses. -The van anti lorry class ITN he ue-divided into three distinct sections, thet, firstflor vehicles with a capacitytup -se' 4-tons, the second for vehicles between 4 tons and 3 tons, and the third for lorries capable of can:ying. over 3-ton loads.

The omnibus class will be divided into two sections, the first being for vehicles with a seating capacity for 16 passengers, and the. secondefor buses with a capacity exceeding this figure.

Entries can be sent to the Chambee Syndicate, 41, Rambla de Catalina, Barcelona. The fee 31541,000 pesetas per vehicle if sent by May 31st. Between June let and 12th sentries will be accepted at double the entrance fee. The control or the vehicles will be in the hands of •slhinash. army officers. It is interesting to note that plot of the trials wilt be run on petrol, secohol, and bensole.

Tractor Performance.

The report of the Lincoln Tractor Trials held last autumn, which can be obtained from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, 83, Pall Matt, London, S.W, 1 (post free 3s:), is document of considerable value, and one which ought to be in the possession of every reader interested in farming, whether already an &Wiser of tractors or not.

Liability for Damage.

No important action was heard at the Manchester Assizes on March 10th and 11th. in which H. Viney and Co., Ltd..,. of :Preston, were proceeded against by

Martin Bros., of-Manche:ter, to recover damages for the loss of a capstan lathe

which fell from one' )f, the delend,ants' motor lorries, whilst beidis conveyed from Preston to Manchester, and rendered worthless.

Plaintiffs showed that the defendants were resnonsible for transport and leads log, and also for securing or lashing. About three miles tram the end Of the journey the top part of one of the lathes became loose no fell off the trailer into the street. Negligence was alleged, but the defendants showed that, whilst the legs of the lathe were properly secured, the resproseibility for the coming away of the top part of the lathe did not devolve upon the defendants, because the bolts attaching it became loose and dropped Got.

Mr. Justice Greer, in his judgment for the defendants, held that/the lathe was not in such a condition a's to stand the ordinary strains or such a journey, and that negligence against, the defendants had not been proved:

A New Benzole Company.

Further to our brief announcement which appeassed ins our '.issue for March 9th, referring to the formation of a new benzole company, the, prospectus has now been issued of Benzole and By-Products, Ltd. The capital Of the now company is g700000, which is divided into 350,000 10 per cent, cumulative convertible preference shares of each, and 350,030 ordinary /shares of £1 each.

The company has been formed primarily to acquire•and amalgamate the urrportant undertaking of the Crigglestone Colliery and Coke Oren and By-Produce Works, the latter producing coke, tar, ammonia, sulphate, benzole, fuel eil, etc., witk the Mitcham Benzole Refifiery,.WhiCheit is said,' is capable of en:output •approachines,a miltionsgallens per, annum of standard quality motor spirit.

The directors of the new cempany are: O. Baselronside, K.C.M.G.; Rt. Hon. Earl of Droghtda, C.M.G.; Mr. A. A. Roberts, F.G.S. • Mr. E. S. Shrapnell-Smith, C.B.E., and Mr. E. C. Fairweather. •

Lorries in Norway.

At the end of January of this year, there were 854 motor vehicles in use in Christiania, which were divided in the following capacities :— 10 cwt. ••• 146 1 ton .•. 184 30 met. 102 2 ton: 190 50 cwt. .•• 95 3 ton ••• 60 70 cwt. ••• .:. 73 4 tern . • • 3 5 ton .,• 1 854

Of this,total 615 were American vehicles, 81 German, 63 British, 44' Italian; 57 French, 11 Swedish, and 3 Danish.

Electric vehicles, it is stated Wave grown to popularity_ throughout Nor way during recent years. . • '

• Britieh manufacturers interested in Neeway,as's, possibleimarket and desiring agents , in:this country ishoUtd Cornmunicate with the Department of Overseas Trades 4, Queen Anne's Clete Old Queen Street; S.We1., -where names can be supplied. • Our next issue will he on sale on Wednesday next„a April 7th, one day later than usual.

Staffordshire C.C, have agreed to the running of motorbuses by the National Steam Car Co., Ltd., on the fallowing routes : Stafford to Milford ; Stafford to Newcastle (via Stenej; Stafford to-Eccles, hall (via Newport); Stafford to Canno-ck (via Rugeley and Lichfield). C.M.-U.A.—North-Western. Division.

At the annual general meeting of the members of the Preston area of the C.M.-U A., held at Blackburn on March nth, Mr. C. le M. Gosselin in the chair, about .100 osiers from all parts of the Preston area were present. Mr. R. Houghton, of G. and R. Dew. hurst, Ltd.,:•was 'Oeeted vice chairman. The report of the secretary, Mr. W. Atkinson, showed that the membership during the year had increased by 148; over 40 cases have been fought on behalf of the members, and an important ease for emission of smoke taken before the Salford Quarter Session had been won. Some very important and interesting speecheswere made "during the course of the meeting by the chairman, by Air. R. C. Reynelds, and Captain F. G. Bristow,

Hattlage Contractors' Associa tion •

The fast action of the newly-formed Association of Liverpool Motor Haulage Contractors has been to .send to Mr. Lloyd George, Prime Minister, a resolutions expressing the unanimous opiniou of its members that, in view of the findings of the Committee on Petrol Production, steps should he taken forthwith to reduce the cost of petrol to the consumer, and also, in view of the probable increase in the cost of fuel for steam vehicles,. these circumstances should be borne in mind.

Thei Liverpool Motor Haulage Contractors' Association is now an accomplished fact, and a unanimity of purpose was manifested at the meeting of prospective members held( in Liverpool on Wednesday last.

At the meeting a week earlier it had been decided to' delay definite decision for a few days, but there was a substantial majority in favour of the projected organization. The meeting held, last Wednesday evening was confined to those who had declared themselves in favour of the new Association, and that there should be an attendance of about 80 persons, representing nearly 60 different haulage enterprises, is as good an indication as_there could possibly be of the interest :Mr. Cawson's proposal has evinced. The difficulties that were cons templatecl of a purely local associatien being unablete negotiate on national issues was overcome by the decision to affiliate with ene of the established national organizations.

The Chairman,' Mr. F. A. Cawson, said they had proceeded with the proposal for the formation of the new Association because they felt 'that the old associations were "dead" so far as

Liverpool was concerned. The,trade was • absolutely unorganized and they realized that no haulage contractor could hope to cope with difficulties and make their undertakings profitable without they were organized and strong enough to pr'event abuses. Something had to be done on the question of rates, and only an organization could prevent unnecessary competition and promote amicable working.

Robey Report.

The report of the directors of Racy and Co., Ltd., for the year ended December 31st, 1919, states that the trading account, shows. Si profit of 254,522. After writing off 214,359 for depreciation of buildings, machinery, and plant, and providing for debenture interest and other items, there: remains a balance of 235,598. After adding 294,014 brought forward from the previous year, and deducting excess profit duty paid on account of 1918 and dividend already paid, there remains a disposable amount of 275,102. This amount is to be appropriated . in the following manner: By the payment of a dividend of 7..S. per cent., (lees income tax) on both preference and ordinary shares, which will absorb 222,356, bY carrying 23000 to the provident fund for employes. After these deductions have been made a. sum of 249,746 remains to be carried forward to the next account.

Haulage Rates in Liverpool.

During last week there wassomething approaching a slump in distance motor haulage traffic from" Liverpool, due primarily to the limited cargoes from

abroad. It is at such a time as the present that the temptation to accept. lower rates becomes most pressing, and several motor vehicle owners have. expressed their deep concern at, such rates as 17s. 6d. and 17s, per ton being accepted from Manchester • to Liverpool. (has informant stated that a. wouldehe client had the' audacity to offer' him .a load at 15s. per ton ! When it is remembered that in the past, and even now occasionally, 30s: a ton and more has been paid, it will be seen how great is the need for co-operation in the fixing of rates to safeguard the contractor's nivn interests.. Another contractor stated that, he heard of a ease a short time ago where a vehicle was requisitioned for a load between the two 4ties at a cost of 25 4s. The contract•oes actual expenses for the journey amounted to 25 12s.

Motor Coaching in Lancashire.

The Radcliffe Motor Transit Co., Ltd., claim to have first introduced motor

coaching into Lancashire in 1908. Exclusive of the four years of war they carried between 1908 and October last more than 100,000 passeners over a distance of 220,000 miles without a mishap of any kind. This year they are running half a dozen 28-seater vehicles, and, on May 1st, will remove from their premises at Dale Street to new premises at the Wilton Garage in Green Street„ Radcliffe.

American Import Duty. .

For an industry to ask the-Government to lower the import duty aeoinst its foreign competitors is unique, if not unparalled, yet such is the position of the automobile manufacturers as announced at a meeting of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce at the headquarters in New York. A canvas of 123 member companies resulted utianimousler in favour of the rednetion of the tariff on impotted cars cbsting $2,000 or over from 45 per cent. to 30 per cent, as-now imposed on cars of lower value.

A memorandum has been eet to the Tariff Commission at Washington setting forth-the reasons why such action is • felt to be in the interest of the industry as well as business generally. It states that encouragement of ithportation should prove helpful to the present serious exchange situation. The makers appreciate that. a lower duty will bring in more foreign vehicles, but rather. welcome the competition as a stimulus to continue America's. leadership in all types of motorcars. It is said that Anierica produces more than 85 per cent. of the world's supply of motor vehicles.

The Plymouth Co-operative Society has 16 motor chars-a-banes for the excursion season, enabling it, to give trips to 300 persons daily. In 1919 the society had three' such vehicles and carried 10,000 passengers, the mileage being 30,000.

Our business department wish to inform advertisers that advertisements. for our issue dated April 6th must reach us by first post Wednesday, March 31st.

Personal Pars.

Sir Herbert Austin, K.B.E., is, so we learn, shortly going over to France in order to make a personal study tif the requirements of the vineyards in theway of a machine for cultivating the iou between the vines.

Mr. Stenson Cooke is one a the born diplomats of the motor community. As secretary of the Automobile Association and Motor Union he has proved himself equally a born administrator. As the development of the A.A. is, in a very large measure, due to him, he is obviously a born organizer. Thus we arrive at the conclusion that the stars were in a very favourable (what is it—, conibination?) on the day of his birth.

A very properly named golfing society, -whose members foregather one working day each month, is the Truants; it is comprised mainly of hard-working motor trade personalities. They do not work less hard at this monthly function, and the winner of the small cup heartily deserves his success. Various golf courees are visited, and on Tuekday last Sandy Lodge being the venue, it was the lot of Mr. Arthur Franks, of Ile oil fame, to annex thetrophy. Needless to say, this was a popular win, and for our part we congratulate the energetic director of W. B. Dick and Co., Ltd.

An interesting appointment of recent weeks is•that of which we are reminded by the sailing of Mr. W. E. Hnmphreys for Canada, where he is to establish -the Leyland Co.'s first new depot in Toronto.

Mr. Humphreys, Who has had an-un'usually compseliensive business career, also has a distinguished war service record to his credit. Joining the Navy soon after the outbreak of war he served as second in command of a sub marine chaser off the south coast of Ireland. In '1917 he was givencom

mand of submarine "Offensive," and -took part in many of the actions against enemy submarines in the western . approaches to the English Channel, his most euccessful " hag " being a German mine layer.•

The New Patent Act.

It is not generally known that the new patent law gives se period of protection for an invention of 16 years instead of 14, . which had hitherto been, the t elm .

Under the provisions of this Act and of the Peace Treaty patents which, during the war, had been in abeyance, may be reinstated by payment, of the renewal fees relating to those yeares Among those patents e.o reinstated we notice that of Mr. W. Worby Beaumont, for what may be briefly called the squeegee tyre for limiting side-slip, which was taken out in December, 1907.

Tramcar Lifeguards

,Apparently lifeguards are to be compulsory on tramca•rs.At a meeting of • the FAAHam Corporation Tramways Committee the manager, who has interviewed the Chief Inspecting. Officer of Railways relative to the provision of a special lifeguard recommended by the Ministry of Transport,reported to the effect that it was imperative that such lifeguards shonld be provided on the . now tramcars, and that these would involve an additional cost of 27 las. per _ car.

Tramways Not Wanted.

The decision of the Standing Orders Committee of the House of Commons that the clauses referring to the extensions of the Nottingham Tramways to Ilucknall and Beeston cannot be accepted has been received with much satisfaction at Hudnall, where tha decision is regarded as the fir4t victory over the series of Nottingham's proposals.

At the outset the District Council and the Traders' Association expressed _their opposition to trams being rim put from Nottingham because it was soughtto make Hudnall a dead centre instead of providing .a through service .a.4 already' provided on a small scale Cy the Trent Traction Cot, with their buses, which it is hoped to augment in the near Intl:ire.

There is a generalfeeling in Hucknall that, failing the augmented service by the Trent Co. the lead given by West Bridgford should be followed and Motorbuse,s rim on their own account.,

Fusion of Transport Unions.

Ile Transport–Workers Federation is taking aCtive -steps to pro/note amaiga 'nation of the two largest vehicle workers Unions in the country, viz., the: United. Vehicle Workers dad the National Union of Vehicle Workers. Several-meetings have already been held, and it is expected that very shortly a con

acts scheme will be ready for presentatiQn to members of the unions, whose united membership totals approximately 150,000.

A Fitting Anniversary.

The inauguration of the Wallasey motorbus service on March. 17th coincided with the eighteenth anniversary of the first electrical tramway service. The estimates of the first year's running of the buses provide for an income of £11,000, whilst the estimated eipenditure embraces -the following itei s:—Petrol, £3,500 ; depreciation, £1. ,111 ; repairs and maintenance, £2,000; and wages, £3,000. A petitionis being prepared to the Liverpool Tramways Committee for a motorbus service between Woolton and Garston.

. Inst. A.E. Paper.

The tenth meetiug of the session of' the Institution of Automobile Engineers will be held on Wednesday', April 14th, at the Institution of Mechanical Engiueors, Storey's . Gate, St. James's Park, Lonclon,.S.W. 1, at 8 p.m., when Dr. W. H. Hatfield will read a pa-per

entitled "The Most Suitable Steels for Automobile' Parts." Application for cards of invitation to the meeting should be made to the Secretary, The Institution of Automobile Engineers, 28, Victoria Street, S.W. I. •

Tippers for Millers_ _

One of the illustrations reproduced on this page shows the labour-saving methods of transporting grain by a well-known company of Liverpool'

millers.

The two Leyland steam wagons shown in the illustration have been regularly employed in carrying grain in bulk from the docks at Liverpool to the mills, a total distance of five miles. he average daily run of each vehicle is 11 of these trips, which totals a Mileage of 55. Each vehicle carries a load of six tons. The saving in labour by those means as dis•tinct from loading in sacks must be very obvious, as the 'bodies are tipped by steam-operated mechanism, so that the grain is transferred directly to the bins at the mills without the aid of manual labour. • Up to date Leyland Motors, Ltd., havedelivered eight steam vehicles and four petrol lorries to this concern, whilst the company have four additional steamers and two petrol lorries on order for early delivery. •

Park Ploughing in London.

Yesterday (Monday) the Ancona 'Motor Co., Ltd., 78-82; Brompton Read, London, S.W.3, started a series of operations which they have undertaken. 'in order to reconstruct a large area of Regent's Park which has been in Government occupation. Operations will continue for a period of 14 days, and will afford a practical demonstration of the efficitaicy of the fouvwlieeled Wallis _tractor.

Ploughing, cultivating, harrowing, timber hauling and sawing are included in the operations, Which commence at 10 a.m. each day.

New Wood-Milne Service Depot.

Wood-Milne, Ltd., have for some considerable time ha two depots at which solid tyres are stlEked, and where tyre presses are in operation. These depots are about to be condensed into a. singe large depot at 9-11, -Whitcher Placa, Rochester Road, Camden Town. This depot is just off the Camden Road, and at one time belonged to the British _Automobile Traction Co., • and later became the Studebaker depot. It is a fine, roomy .place with ample accommodation for the several thousands of solid tyres of all sizes which will be kept there. Three heavy presses will be installed as a cominencement. These presses are of the most modern type, the hydraulic pumps being electricay oper

ated. The table pressure reaches 250 tons.

To speed up the work hydraulic wheel drawers are being provided, as well as small travelling cranes for the rapid handling of heavy wheels.

-By the time this article appears the new depot will probably be in operation, and those interested, should note that the two Other depots at. River Street, •. Islington, and Simmer Street, Victoria Street, are to be doted assoon as this can conveniently be arranged.

The company do a very large business with allkinds of solid tyres, and, apart from tyres fitted for commercial-vehicles, largenumbers are provided for Use on malt electric trolleys. Potential users of Wood-Milne tyres be interested to know that these will be fitted free. All the work will be done under cover.

Housing and Transport.

Reaheeler; that transport is essential to speed up housing,' and in view of difficulties as regards shortage of labour and materials and transport delays, the Ministry of Health suggests that these questions should be taken into consideration by Housing Committees, or that the local authority should appoint for this purpose a special housing committee which might be called a Production Committee.

The Ministry has,appointed to the staff of each Housing Commissioner a production officer and a transport officer. The former will keep in touch with the progress of all housing schemes in his region, especially as regards the supply of labour and materials. He will be familiar with the local resources of his region as regards material, and arrangement s■ have been made for the co-operation of the offices of the Ministry of Labour with him. The transport officers whose services have been lent to the Ministry by various railway companies will be available for the assistance of local authorities where local difficulties of transport arise.

The Production Committees are specially asked to deal with the best use which may be made of existing transport facilities in relation to the supply of Materials. Where difficulties regarding labour or materials arise or are antici''pated the committee will, of course,, communicate with the regional production officer or transport officer, as the case may be.

M.T.A. and Nottingham Work.

In recognition of his invaluable work as secretary of the-East Midland Division of the Motor Trade Association, Aid. T. E. Pendleton, the ex-Mayor of Nottingham, was, at a representative gathering held at the Victoria Station Hotel, one evening la,st week, the recipient of an ornate silver tray, subsoribed for Erv members of the trade, Miss Elie Pendle'ton his daughter, being at the same time asked to accept a gold wristlet watch. Many representatives of the industry from other towns attended the proceedings, including Messrs. L. V. Cozens and E. Genna, of Wolvexhampton; P. Peters, London; R. Winn, Leeds; H. D. Wogan. Grantham, and J. R. Egerton, Ipswich.

In making the presentation, Mr. H. A. Bennett, chairman of the Association, eulogized the work for which Aid. Pendleton had been responsible, pointing out that his efforts 'had led to the membership being increased from 74 to 359.

The ex-Mayor, in his •response, observed that when he took over the secretarial duties it was most difficult to obtain members, but the difficulty to-day was to know how to avoid them.

Miss Pendleton also acknowledged the compliment paid to her, an interesting musical programme supplementing the speeches.

A Cheshire Protest.

Pointing out that they had received protests against the proposal to increase fares, the Bromborough Council (Cheshire) have informed the Orosvilfie Motor Co. that, while they realized certain increases had taken piece affecting vehicular traffic, they urged keeping dosvp the increases, if any, to the absolute minimum. At the meeting of the Council it was stated that the contemplated action of the company might detrimentally affect the service, and possibly lead to the introduction of 'competitive traffic.

Port of Liverpool Traffic.

Mr. AV. Edwards has been elected" to represent the motor-owning interests on a new Traffic Committee, which has been appointed by the Liverpool Chamber of. Commerce, to consider any difficulties or grievances, Occluding labour, in connection with the transport woik of the port, and to take such steps as may be necessary or expedient for the amelioration without awaiting the confirmation 'of the proceedings by the Council of the Chamber.

Traffic in Residential Streets.

Marylebone Borough Counci, has lately received several complaints with regard to the vibration and serious inconvenience caused -by the. increasing number of motor lorries and tractieth engines of the largest else—the latter drawing heaeily-loaded' . truck—which travel .through residential streets, . inthose .which contain many nursing.: homes. It is .urged that the vibration from this heavy traffic is not only detrimental • to the property,but . that the' noise and smoke from the 'engines constitute a grave public nuisance. The Borough COM1Cii has drawn the attention of the Ministry of Transport to the onnplaints,' and • sug-. gested that residential, streets, especially those in which therware nursing hrimes, should not bear too large a proportion of the heavy traffic complained of.

Buses for Hereford.

The Birmingham and Midland Motor

Omnibus whose all-ied single'deckers are familiar sights on the streets of Birmingham and in the country lanes for' miles round, are extemd'ingetheir operations still further afield and are commeecing a service at Hereford, to which city they have just recently sent a small fleet of vehicles. Local Proceedings. _ Cheadle U.D.C. is to-purchase a steam motor wagon.

/Sanction has been given to Louth T.C. to borrow £600 for the purchase of a motor roller.

Manchester Corporation has accepted the tender of Ellis and Lawler for the hire of eteaan wagon and trailer.'

Consideration is being given by the Crompton U.D.C. to the purchase of motor vehicles for the removal of house refuse.

The. ocninty surveyor of Hentiegdon has been instructed to purchase the fol-. lowing : a steam tractor and two tractor 'wagons . at £1,550; a petrol road roller at £720; two petrol terries at £2,300; and three Ford vans at £900.

Paper on Magnetos.

A' meetingof the London branchof the Graduates Section of the Institution of Automobile Engineers was held at 28,

Victoria Street,. London, S.W. 1, on March 11th, Commdr. W. Briggs, R.N., being in the chair, supported by Lieut.-Col. W. A. Bristow, when Mr. Clia.ppell read a paper on ", Magnetos." The author described in a very lucid manner the functions of the various parts of the magneto, and the characteristics of the different types. A word or two upon the points of the various types of sparking-plug. on the market; and concluded by saying that the British magneto was quite as good, if red better, than the German magnetos ured in this country before the war. A very instructive and interesting contribution was added by Lieut.-Col. Bristow, and an animated discussion followed.

• L.G.O.C. Enterprise.

The L.G.O.Co. has asked the East Ham Corporation for information as to the number.of houses to be erected and the estimated accommodation, in order • that it may consider the requisite transport facilities in connection therewith.

Tractors in Paris.

Under rows of canvas tents tastefully set up in the gardens of the Tuileries palace, in the, heart. of Paris —that delightful spot which, somehow; seems to lend itself to such events because of its extreme accessibility—a number of agylmotor exhibits has been

gathered together under the tine of the International Motorculture Exhibition.

The exhibition was fairly comprehensive, and the presence of English; Italian, and American machines, gave it an international' character, whilst the public attendance throughout was more than merely satisfactory, although a very large proportion consisted of the

typical Parisian and Parisienne. For all that, there were a number of interested inquiries after information of a practical and technical character, and the exhibitors and their representatives seemed quite satisfica. with the results of their efforts. The Austin tractor, as our artist's drawing shows, was quite the centre of attraction.


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